Treatments of heart conditions, such as myocardial infarction (MI), mainly include medication, medical interventional therapy and surgery, such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery. These treatments can unclog the occlusive blood vessels and improve the symptom of myocardial ischemia. They cannot, however, enhanced cardiac conduction or have limited improvement of cardiac function.
Following a myocardial infarction, a non-contractile fibrotic scar forms. Scar formation can be associated with widespread cardiomyocyte death and impaired electrical properties, such as slowing of electrical impulse propagation across the scar region of the myocardium. In addition, “passive” barriers can develop that produce unidirectional block or delay in atrioventricular (AV) electrical conduction, or even produce deadly reentrant arrhythmias. Currently, there are few direct treatments of these underlying conditions.
The present disclosure relates to a biocompatible, electrically conductive material capable of treating heart conditions including myocardial infarction and other related conditions. For example, the electrically conductive biomaterial can restore or improve electrical impulse propagation across the damaged tissue or scar region of the myocardium and resolve “passive” barriers to atrioventricular electrical conduction.